Consent Settings in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Consent Settings have been introduced in Google Analytics. These settings include ad measurement and ad personalization consent signals, which determine how data can be used that is collected into Google Analytics. For example, if you’re collecting data from users based in the European Union (EU) and you want to use this data in your linked Google Ads account, then you will need to ensure ad personalization signals are collected when you track people on your website. If these signals aren’t collected, then the data for those users won’t be available in Google Ads.

Watch our tutorial covering Consent Settings in Google Analytics:

Consent Settings Overview

Consent settings and consent signals let you control how Google Analytics handles data that’s been collected on your website based on the consent choices of your users. Implementing consent settings is important, as you’ll need to send consent signals to use data in your linked Google Ads account. It’s also critical when complying with privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, and others.

The consent settings can be viewed for each data stream in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Once you’ve opened a data stream and selected ‘Consent Settings’, you will be able to:

• See if measurement consent signals are being collected by the property.
• See if ad personalization consent signals are being collected by the property.
• View resources for implementing consent mode on your website.
• Control which Google products can use data collected with appropriate consent signals.

About Consent Signals

Consent signals are the indicators received by Google Analytics from a user or a consent management platform that inform Google of the user's consent choices. These signals control whether Google Analytics can collect data, what type of data can be collected, and for what purposes.

For example, a user might consent to the use of cookies for analytics purposes but not for advertising. In this case, Google Analytics would adjust data collection and processing to align with these consent preferences.

Conclusion

It's essential for website owners and developers to understand and properly implement these settings and signals to ensure compliance with privacy laws and to respect user preferences. And you will need to begin collecting consent signals in order to continue using all of your available data from Google Analytics in your linked Google Ads account.

One of the best ways to implement consent signals is to use a consent management platform with Google Tag Manager. To learn how to configure consent mode in Google Tag Manager, check out our Google Tag Manager Course.